Tech World editor launches online guide for Saudi entrepreneurs

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A new online platform in Saudi Arabia is seeking
to develop the startup sector in the country, through a combination
of news media and education.

Entrprnrshp was
launched in late December by Egyptian Tamer Imran, the
editor-in-chief of leading Saudi technology news portal Tech World. His new
project includes small
business ideas, articles which publish entrepreneur
success stories, classifieds allowing entrepreneurs to market their
services, specialized sessions in digital marketing, blogging, SEO,
and business technology consultancy. The platform recently launched
Notebook, a section that provides courses on YouTube and
Snapchat.

Imran
spoke to Wamda about the message he wants to deliver through
Entrprnrshp, how he balances Tech World and the new project, the
online press in the Arab world, and entrepreneurship
challenges.

Wamda: What is the message you
are trying to convey through Entrprnrshp and how do you find
stories worth covering?

Tamer Imran:Our aim is to
cover all sensitive topics that entrepreneurs care about,
especially the young ones.

In terms of finding topics and ideas worth
publishing, we adopt strict criteria that are critical to our
selection process. The article must answer an important question
asked by visitors – whom we call “business visitors” – which adds
the real value intended by the website, which is enriching
visitors’entrepreneurship-relatedknowledge.

Research is carried out to find sources that
make the article both fun and beneficial to the reader.

Wamda: How many visitors does
the website currently have, and who is in the team?

Imran:Entrprnrshp is relatively new and although it was only
launched five month ago, it managed to draw an unexpected number of
visitors. We now have more than 22,000 monthly users.

The team is made of a group of volunteer
experts, including HR trainer Omar Arifi, SEO specialist Khaled
Harbi, online marketing specialist Imane Zoubeidi, business systems
consultant Dahlia Jambi, and management and PR specialist Dalal
Madouweh.

Wamda: How do you balance
between Tech World and Entrprnrshp?

Imran:My work
at Tech World is an integral part of my work at Entrprnrshp;
because they both represent my career success. Moreover, my great
colleague Saoud El Hawawi – founder of Tech World – was the first
to support Entrprnrshp and still does.

I believe that no entrepreneur should leave his
full time job for his business, regardless of whether or not he
likes his job, because his current job is the funder through which
he supports his small business. And the entrepreneur has to choose
between staying at his job and hiring someone to run his business,
or leaving his job to dedicate his time to developing his
business.

Wamda: How do see the current
online press scene in the Arab world? Do you think that working in
this field is profitable?

Imran:Online
press is now in a real growth mode, especially given that media can
control public opinion, but I believe - and this is my personal
opinion - that Arab press needs writers and journalists who have
skills beyond just writing typical articles and news
updates.

The online press currently faces difficulties in
satisfying readers. Not all websites face this problem and the rule
here is simple: a mere attractive title to click on or share, along
with a messy picture and monotone content will only waste the
reader’s time. That’s why I recommend to those websites [that do
this] to improve their content and to guide readers towards higher
quality content.

Regarding
imposing fees on the work, that’s up to the author himself and his
needs.

Just 5 months old, Entrprnrshp now has more than 22,000 monthly
users.

Wamda: What are the legal and
logistic limitations preventing young Saudis from launching their
projects and how does Entrprnrshp address that?

Imran:That’s
an important question. The biggest obstacle facing youth is how
they think about making the project successful, based on the
messages we get every day which are often requests for
funding.

The entrepreneur should first look at the
resources he has instead of waiting for funding, because investors
aren’t waiting around for an entrepreneur to launch a project that
they can then fund. The entrepreneur should start with whatever he
has, study his idea well enough, and [be ready to] provide all the
required information for whenever an investor comes along, whether
before or after the project enters the implementation
phase.

Through Entrprnrshp, we explain at length these
concepts and how entrepreneurs can save their projects from
failure.

Wamda: What’s the next
step?

Imran:We will be providing
both free and paid audio-visual sessions on everything an
entrepreneur or a startup needs, and we will also be launching a
new section for the development of the entrepreneurship concept
among children.